Rancid chicken found at Norfolk restaurant

Magistrates ordered the destruction of "rancid" and "putrefying" chicken pieces seized from Great Yarmouth's KFC restaurant.

Kate Watts, commercial team manager for the borough council's environmental health department, appeared before the bench to seek a condemnation order for three boxes of raw and cooked chicken she had seized on Wednesday night.

Kate Watts, commercial team manager for the borough council's environmental health department, appeared before the bench to seek a condemnation order for three boxes of raw and cooked chicken she had seized on Wednesday night.

She told the Yarmouth court they had carried out an inspection at the Regent Road premises at about 10.15pm after receiving a phone call from a concerned member of the public.

The caller had alleged that a duty manager at the restaurant had told staff not to eat the chicken because it was off, but to carry on preparing it for the public.

Ms Watts said on her arrival she observed chicken pieces being breaded ready for cooking; when she smelled them she was concerned by the “foul odour”.

The chicken, which also had a slimy surface, was on the last day of its use by date, May 26.

She said she had discussed the findings with the duty manager and requested the store manager to be called. She had also asked that the restaurant stop selling the chicken to the public, which was agreed to.

Ms Watts said a colleague inspected the restaurant's walk-in chiller and found the temperature at 13.4C when high risk foods should be stored at below 8C. Probing the chicken, it was discovered its temperature was 12.4C.

She said: “I cut some cooked chicken and could still detect the foul odour.”

While she found chicken on the premises with a later use by date in satisfactory condition, she removed the unfit batch from the premises.

It was the department's intention to investigate the matter further and samples of the chicken had been sent for testing.

The store manager, Josie Harris, declined to give evidence.

Temenuzhka Dimitrova, secretary to Bimal Vyas, a director of Yarmouth-based DVKBV, which owns the franchise, said there had never been any complaints from customers.

All parties had been invited to smell the chicken and Miss Dimitrova challenged the finding that the cooked chicken had a foul odour.

Ordering the destruction of the chicken on the grounds of it being unfit for human consumption, chairman of the bench Richard Howard said: “We agree the chicken smells rancid and is putrefying.”

DVKBV was ordered to pay £263 costs, covering work by council staff and the destruction of the chicken.